Also, PLEASE don't blow money on commercial web development or online distribution companies. I'm sure there are several people on here (like myself) who have those skills and would be willing to help.

There is a publishing concept out there that some book publishers (mostly textbooks, manuals, etc.) are using. They publish an online version, and offer a printed version "on demand" through a third-party printer. So, all subscribers pay a lower cost for the online version and the printing costs to the magazine publisher go away. The subscribers who want a hard-copy pay (directly to the third-party printer) the actual cost of printing/mailing their copy. Those who order hard-copies typically get to choose their own binding. So, if someone wanted to keep the magazines in a binder, they could order their copy loose and pre-punched. Of course, different bindings have different costs, but it is up to the recipient.

Excellent idea! Amazon offers publishing on demand. A friend uses it and I can't believe how inexpensive it is for a person to buy one four color book. Cost him virtually nothing - all he does is collect royalties.Online issues could be aggregated into a book once a year.

Yes, print on demand is bringing thousands of obscure books back into availability, and - although I've not heard of it - could presumably be extended to include obscure magazines too. It's not just an on-line thing either - you can order a print-on-demand book from your local bookshop and collect it from there when it's ready. Perhaps ideal for bus nuts who don't have mailing addresses?

I'll throw something else into the mix that I'm sure MAK has at the very least thought about, whether he is considering implementing it or not. There are web forums out there that you have to pay to read. There seems to be consensus that the content here is valuable and that it costs to maintain the BBS. So maybe we should all be paying to play. Obviously there's some risk to implementing that program and it could be argued that some members here give way more in the way of valuable information than they ever receive back. If some of them got driven away by the cost to subscribe then maybe there'd be no reason for the rest of us to come back. On the other hand there's probably some way to balance that and still generate some revenue from this site so its not just a cost centre. I'd pay - I'm not sure how much but I'd pay something.

Logged

R.J.(Bob) EvansUsed to be 1981 Prevost 8-92, 10 spdCurrently busless (and not looking)My websiteOur weblogSimply growing older is not the same as living.

There was a comment on the 'Kenworth' thread about BCM having a history section - great idea!

Are there any classic/vintage (or indeed modern) bus magazines in the US? There are several in the UK so I'd imagine the much bigger US market could support at least one. Possibly BCM could expand it's scope to cover old restored and preserved American buses as well as old converted ones (although I still think expanding to cover for example self-built truck-based motorhomes would also be a good way to go)

Here are some of the UK bus magazines currently being published. These are all glossy, professional magazines available from high-street retailers. I also have back-issues in stock for several other bus titles which have since been taken-over / merged etc.

Jeremy

I've also just come across this one, which I haven't seen before. Looks to be for bus operators rather than enthusiasts. BK probably receives something similar:

Sounds like a great idea. I was thinking along those lines to in why not include some material on the seated bus side of things once in awhile as well? Or, how about doing something on executive or VIP coaches since those sort of bridge the gap between the seated and converted bus.